Shimmer and Shine: Genesis
by DawnOfTyme
Summary: A more serious, slightly darker approach to Shimmer and Shine. An origin story if you will. Zahramay Falls is in danger of total annihilation by an evil sorceress named Zeta, and only two young genies have the power to stop her. Now, their human friend, Leah, must juggle her personal life and her life as a magical being in Zahramay Falls. Rated T for suggestive themes and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Leah's Pov

" No, Leah. You can't sit with us."

" Yeah, why would we let someone as ugly as you sit at _our_ lunch table? Get real."

 _Ugl_ y? _They really thought I was ugly?_

" Yeah! Get lost. If you wanna hang out with us, you've gotta be just as perfect as us. We don't accept geeks."

" Well, you're... You're-"

" Flawless? We already know. Now get away from us, reject."

 _I... I can't take this anymore._

I dropped my lunch tray onto the cold, hard floor. My food and milk spilled onto my new shoes. The girls began to laugh, pointing at me in disapproval. I tried to run away, but I ended up slipping on the milk, and falling to my knees. My long, blond hair was now stained white with the liquid, and the other girls laughed even harder.

" Ha ha! What a loser!"

Tears began to force their way out of my eyes. I stood up, and rushed out of the cafeteria, crying harder than I ever had before.

...

General Pov

" Oh my god. I can't believe they did that to you,"

Leah turned around and flipped her hair, " I know, but I'm fine. I really am, Zac."

Zac was Leah's best friend, and had been since they were little. Leah was twelve, and Zac was thirteen, so he was a bit taller. Zac twirled his thick, red hair around his fingers before resting a hand on Leah's shoulder, " That's good to hear. Those girls are terrible," Zac said.

" Ugh. Don't even remind me," Leah said, " They make fun of kids if they don't act exactly how _the_ y see fit. Like can you beli-"

Zac grabbed Leah's hand, breaking her fall after she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.

" S-Sorry, Zac."

" No big deal, Leah. It happens, happens a lot."

...

" Here's dinner, sweetheart. Hope you like it."

Leah sighed and picked up her fork. She began to poke and pick at her food.

" Come on, Leah-sweetie. I need you to eat tonight."

" Not hungry,"

" How was school today?"

Leah sighed and got out of her seat. While walking towards the staircase, she looked back at her mother, " Hell."

...

... _Years Ago..._

" W-What do you want?"

" Gems... All of the Gems, including the ones dangling from your daughters' heads. Those gems, will help me unlock the secrets of this world."

" You... You will not touch my daughters, witch!"

The dark woman pulled a bottle out from a holster and opened it. A mysterious energy leaked out of the bottle and onto the fallen woman.

" I am a _Sorceress,"_ the woman said, " And I will do whatever it takes to collect **all** of the Gems in Zahramay Falls. Even if I have to _dispose_ of a minor interference."

" M-Mommy? What's wrong?"

" Sh-Shine, m-my precious Shine. Get your sister, and fly away on the carpet. Head to the (cough) o-old palace... "

" M-Mommy? Wake up... "

Tears began to form in the little girl's eyes, " Please wake up!"

The evil sorceress began to laugh diabolically, " You better run away, Girlie. Before I steal your precious Gem, and become the new wielder of the _Powers of the Divin_ e!"

Shine ran into another room, " Shimmer! Grab Tala and Nahal! We have to go!"

" Wh-Where's Mommy?"

A small, white tiger hopped onto Shine's shoulder, and a golden monkey leaped atop Shimmer's head. Shine gripped onto Shimmer's hand, and pulled her onto the magic carpet. The four flew into the vast skies of Zahramay Falls, and towards an unforeseen future.


	2. Chapter 2

**...Zahramay** **Falls, Present Day...**

" So, what's the big surprise? "

" Yeah! C'mon, tell us, Princess Samira! What is it?"

The shining Zahramay sun gleamed through the curtains of Princess Samira's palace. The weather outside was perfect, and rainbows filled the already bright and colorful sky with more cheer than before. Shimmer and Shine stared anxiously into the princess's sapphire blue eyes.

" Genies in-Training," the princess rested two fingers upon the crystals dangling from the young Genies' heads, " Today is the day you will meet your _Companion_."

" Companion? What's that?"

" Your Companion is a young human whom you will grant wishes for and become great friends with."

Shimmer and Shine's eyes began to glimmer and glow, Shimmer clapped her hands together and began fly around in circles around the room.

" Tala! Did you hear that? We're gonna get a new friend! A real, human friend!"

" Yes. Observe the Crystal Ball, Genies."

Now calmed down a bit, Shimmer continued hovering in the air with Tala atop her head. Shine sat down and began to pet her little tiger, Nahal. Samira's pet peacock, Roya, entered the throne room soon after.

A young girl appeared in the orb.

The girl had luscious, straight blond hair that rested just below her shoulders. She had sparkling emerald green eyes and wore a bright purple shirt with polka dots and a light blue skirt.

" Her name is Leah Foley. She is twelve-years old and is definitely in need of an amazing Genie friends,"

" But, Princess Samira,"

" Yes, Shine."

" Humans aren't normally allowed in Zahramay Falls anymore after the _Incident_ , right?"

" Leah mustn't be transported into Zahramay Falls, you will have to travel to Earth and meet her there,"

" And what if she did make her way into Zahramay? It's a beautiful place with amazing, friendly creatures," Shine continued, " But there's also Sorceresses, Demons, and lots of other things."

Shimmer and Samira looked over at Shine in concern.

" I dunno," Shine said, " I just don't want her to get hurt."

" She won't be hurt, Shine. I wouldn't let anything happen to you guys."

The two Genies looked up at the mentor.

" I'd rather give my own life than let anything happen to my friends,"

...

 **Earth, Present Day**

" Oh c'mon, Leah! You just aced the algebra test! Try to cheer up, please."

Leah and Zac were walking through the downtown streets. Leah turned around and looked over at her friend, " Sorry, Zac. I just haven't been feeling the best lately."

Zac turned to look at his best friend. Tears were forming in her eyes. Zac didn't know what was wrong with Leah. Sure the girls in school had been picking on her recently, but when kids would pick on him, he'd ignore it. It didn't help that Leah's father had abandoned her mother either.

Zac remembered a moment from when he was younger. His mother had ran out on his father after an argument, but just days later his mother came back and all was good. Leah's father had been gone for years. Maybe she felt lonely, and the constant harassment from the girls in school may have been making her feel even worse.

" You know what you need, Leah," The red-haired boy reached into his pocket, " You my friend, need a picker-upper. _Bam._ I got us two tickets to the County Fair, " Zac continued, " We'll grab a few sodas, play some games, normal Fair stuff. "

Leah smiled slightly at Zac, " Thanks, I'm sure it'll be awesome."

...

" Wait, she won it? She won it!"

" Yeah! Let's hurry and do something to help her make the right choice!"

...

" Alright, kid. You won. Choose a B-Rank prize."

" Uhm, She knocked down _all_ of the bottles. She kids an A-Rank prize, shady."

The man running the game stand glared at Zac in anger.

" Damn kids get smarter and smarter every year," He muttered.

" And it seems the adults get dumber and dumber, now give her the damn prize,"

Leah covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, " Zac, I never heard you swear before," she laughed.

" Eh, it happens. Happens a lot. I mean, uhm, not to me, but-"

" I get it," Leah laughed, " Um, I guess I'll have the... Stuffed animal!"

The man reached up to grab the stuffed animal when another item caught Leah's eyes.

It looked like one of the Genie bottles Leah had seen in the movies, in dangled in the air, shining and glimmering for all to see. She wanted that bottle...

" Alright, one stuffed animal-"

" Actually, can I have that glass bottle up there?"

The man sighed loudly in annoyance.

" Hey, it's the job you chose, man." Zac said, crossing his arms.

The employee handed Leah the bottle, " Thank you, sir!"

The two walked away from the stand and Leah placed the necklace around her neck.

" Hey Zac, how about we go into the fun house? It look really fun."

" Hmm, sounds like a plan. But, let me get some of that funnel cake real quick. I love funnel cake!"

" Alright, silly. I'll meet you there."

Leah made her way over to the fun house. During the walk there, her necklace began to shake a bit, but she figured it was just the wind and ignored it.

...

" Ugh, am I lost? I knew I probably should've waited for Zac."

Leah was lost in the fun house. She was in a room that was pitch black and it seemed like she was being engulfed by the onslaught of distorted mirrors. The necklace was her only source of light, albeit a small one. Leah looked down at her necklace, it was still glowing pink and was shaking frequently. She was indoors, so no wind. Now she was interested.

" Why not? Maybe it'll work like it does in the movies."

Leah rubbed the bottle on her necklace.

Nothing happened.

" Heh, well, it was worth a shot," she laughed.

Suddenly, the bottle began to levitate into the air as purple smoke poured out of it. Leah coughed and tried to look up and see what was going on. When she opened her eyes, she stared in awe at what stood before her.

" I'm Shimmer!"

" And I'm Shine!"

" Your Genies Divine! Boom Zahramay, your best friends are here to stay!"


	3. Chapter 3

" Just one last ingredient, and the potion will b--Nazboo! "

The dragonic being swiftly turned his head and dropped the small fruit from his hands, " O-Oh! Sorry! " He uttered.

Zeta sighed. Nazboo couldn't be helped. He was childish, clumsy, and sometimes the sorceress wanted nothing more than to just slap him silly, but she didn't. To Zeta, Nazboo was simply an assistant. Nothing more. Right? With her black heart, clearly she was unable of caring for anything, genie or dragon.

" T-Tummy rub? "

Zeta sighed, got on her knees, and scratched Nazboo's torso.

Perhaps, she _was_ capable of loving...

...

" So, you two are _really_ genies? "

Leah stared into the eyes of the girls in front of her.

" Well, we're floating right in front of you. I didn't think humans could do that. "

Leah observed the girls. One of them had a long, pastel pink ponytail, while the other's hair was an ocean blue. She assumed that they were sisters, it would only make sense.

" We can't, " Leah admitted, " Well, if you two are genies, then grant me a wish. "

" Simple enough. "

Leah smirked. She knew she had them now. There's no way they could grant her wish. If the wish thing didn't work, she didn't know what would explain materializing from the bottle and floating. Strings? A cheesy fair gag? It didn't matter. She just wanted to be left alone right now. After the constant verbal abuse from the girls at school, she wasn't in the mood to be the victim of some campy prank.

" I wish... I dunno. I wish for a boatload of snacks. "

It was a basic thing to request, but it would be a good way to test whether these _genies_ were real, or bogus.

" You got it! Boom Zahramay! First wish of the day! Shimmer and Shine, snacktime divine! "

The blue haired girl clapped her hands together as sprinkles of glitter flutter down from the sky. Leah watched awaitingly.

Nothing happened.

" Heh, I knew it. C'mon guys, take off the cosplay and cut the act. "

The genies looked at Leah confused when suddenly, the pink haired girl's eyes popped open.

" Oh wait, one second. "

She flew out of the room and pulled in a boat that was filled to the brim with snacks.

" Here's your snacks. I hope you like them! They're all from Zahramay! "

Leah's eyes widened in suprise and happiness.

" Uhm. Heh. Guys? I didn't mean an _actual_ boatload. "

" Oh, sorry. " They apologized

" It's okay. "

She looked up at them, " What'd you say your names were again? "

" I'm Shimmer! " The pink haired girl said.

" And I'm Shine! The blue haired girl said.

" Heh. Shimmer and Shine, " Leah said happily, " My g-genies divine. "

...

" Where are they? "

" I-I'll never tell you... Agh! "

" You tell me where those gems are or I will possess you with this potion as I did to your mentor years ago. "

" You will not prevail... "

" Damn you, Samira. You make this so difficult. "

" Y-Yeah yeah! Difficult! "

Samira swung her magical staff at the threatening character standing before her. The person staggered slightly, and felt a substance dripping from her cheek.

Blood.

" Well if it's a magic duel you want, than it's a magic duel you will get. And I swear, I will not stop until you are eliminated from exsistance! "


	4. Chapter 4

" AAGH!"

" Where are the girls?"

" I-I'm not telling you a-anything!"

More gas filled Princess Samira's nostrils and head with pain and aches. Blood began to pour out of Samira's nose, and ran down her face, staining her previously clean dress.

" Damn you, Zeta!"

Samira received a cold, hard smack to the face with Zeta's staff.

" You tell me where those girls are," Samira threatened, " Or I swear to you, I will kill every last creature here in Zahramay. You know I have that kind of power,"

Samira grunted, and looked up at Zeta.

" They're at G-Genie Beach. It's j-just a few hour's flight from here..."

" Heh, perfect. I will ambush the genies there. Come on, Nazboo,"

Zeta vanished. The young princess sighed in relief, but it was short lived.

She knew this lie wouldn't be able to save Shimmer and Shine forever...

...

" You guys can't just go flying around all willy-nilly,"

" Well, why not?"

Leah face palmed and sighed, " Humans don't do that. I can't exactly leave you guys here, my mom might find you,"

" Leah, we can travel from Zahramay Falls back to here whenever we want!"

" Z-Zahramay?"

" It's where we live! Maybe one day we can take you there!" Shimmer said.

" No!" Shine yelled, " I'm sorry, Leah, but we can never take you to Zahramay Falls."

" What? Why not?" Asked Shimmer.

" You heard, Princess Samira. It's too dangerous there right now. Leah could get hurt or worse, and-"

" It's fine," Leah said, " I have to go to school. You two handle your business in Zahramay or wherever,"

" O-Oh, okay. We'll see you soon, Leah!" Said Shimmer.

" Sure."

With that, Shimmer and Shine dissipated into back into the genie bottle. Leah sighed, grabbed her backpack, and walked downstairs.

...

" Aah, it's always a good feeling when we return to th-"

Shimmer and Shine turned around to see a bloody, but still conscious, Princess Samira.

" Samira!"


	5. Chapter 5

" Samira? W-What happened?"

Samira's body lay idle in the middle of the palace floor. The genies in-training ran up to aid their fallen mentor. They picked her up, her face was stained a deep red from dried blood. Tala and Nahal ran up to the genies and princess.

" S-Samira..." Shimmer sat down on the floor and began to tear up. She turned away as Tala climbed up upon her shoulder.

" Don't worry, Shimmer. I can help," Shine clapped her hands together, " Boom Zahramay."

Samira's eyes opened up, and she began to breathe.

" Samira!"

Samira stumbled and coughed up small amounts of blood, " Y-You've mastered the Healing spell, I'm proud of you, Shine,"

" You're alive! Thank goodness!" Shimmer, Shine, Tala and Nahal ran up and gave Princess Samira a welcoming hug.

" You're not safe, Genies," Samira said, " Zeta... She's searching for you, and she won't stop until she finds you and the Genie Gems. I need you to return to Earth, take Tala and Nahal with you."

" B-But why?" Shimmer asked.

" Zeta will stop at nothing to retrieve your Gems, and all of the Gems all over Zahramay," the princess continued, " You need to go to Earth and protect Leah. When it is safe for you to return, I will call upon you. Then, and only then, will you able to bring Leah to Zahramay Falls."

" But I thought humans weren't-"

" She will be able to help us. She has that kind of power," Samira continued, " Now go, Genies. Spend time with Leah. I'm sure she's missing her new genies."

...

" Hello, I'm a passing through pirate and I'm looking for a new Gem Cutlass. Do you have any for sale?"

The young pirate girl flipped her long, glowing red hair and presented her broken cutlass to the salesman.

" What happened to your blade?" He asked her. The girl shrugged, and ran her fingers through her hair.

" It was strange," she said, " They seemed to be... Undead. My poor cutlass didn't last very long. I took my ship and fled."

" Undead? This must be the work of Zeta."

" Zeta?"

" She's a evil sorceress, hellbent on destroying Zahramay. She flies around on some kind of machine with a baby dragon," he said, " She often tests her spells on the other genies in town. It's heartbreaking to watch, and I fear for the lives of my family and I every day."

Zora clenched her fists, " Damn it. I swear to you, I will destroy this Zeta if it's the last thing I do."

Author's Note:

Sorry this chapter was so short. This was more of a transitional chapter. I am planting seeds for the plot of next week's chapter, and I wanted to leave this on a bit of a cliffhanger. Feel free to speculate in the comments below.

More Shimmer and Shine next Tuesday, ok?


	6. Chapter 6

The voices of excited students filled the classroom to the brim. Everyone had just received their graded tests from a few days prior. Some with cheers of happiness from their spectacular A+, and some of disdain from their unwanted F-. Zac flipped his auburn hair to the side and turned to talk to his friend.

" Hey, Leah," he said, " What'd you get on the Math test?"

Leah flipped over her graded test and showed him the grade, " Pretty good, right?"

" Woah, a 95? That's almost perfect! I wish I would've gotten a grade that good!"

" Would've, should've, could've," she joked, " What did you end up getting though?"

Zac showed her the paper, " Uhm... 44?"

Leah laughed, " Typical Zac."

" Don't worry, Leah. It happens, happens a lot."

The bell rang, and the students flowed out of the classroom like a rush of water. Leah said goodbye to Zac, and made her way to her locker to gather her things. Her backpack, books, and her mystical genie bottle. She wrapped it around her neck and the bottle rested upon her chest. She'd keep it there, for good.

" Hi, Leah."

" Oh. Hi, Zoey."

Zoey was Leah's new friend that she had just met at school. Zoey's medium-length, black hair rested just upon her shoulders. She was one of the only girls that was actually kind to Leah.

" Are you going to the dance this Friday?"

" Uhm... Maybe, I dunno." She said.

" You should!" said Zoey, " Ooh, I know! You can go with Zac!"

Leah's cheeks turned a rosy red, " What? No. Zac doesn't like me..."

" But he does!"

" Nah, he wouldn't like someone like me."

" What do you mean?"

Leah turned and giggled, " It's nothing, really. I'll text you later, ok?"

" Ok, Leah!"

* * *

The setting Zahramay sun was slowly descending, giving way to the night sky. The tides were slowly pushing in and out from the coastline. Stars were faintly able to be seen in the sky.

" Genie Beach... Those two brats should be here."

Zeta stood patiently near the water with Nazboo. Waiting... Waiting... Waiting...

Waiting.

" Damn, Samira. I'll find those genies if it's the last thing I do. Let's go, Nazboo."

* * *

" Uhm... Now what was that thing I say? Oh wait, yeah, I remember!"

Leah rested her hands on her magical genie bottle and began to rub it.

" Shimmer and Shine, my genies divine. Through this special chant, three wishes you'll grant!"

A violet, sparkling smog filled the room. Pink and Blue radiances could be seen underneath the smog.

" I'm Shimmer!"

" And I'm Shine!"

" Your Genies Divine! Boom Zahramay! What can we do for you today?"

Leah stood in awe of her genie friends once again. It didn't matter how many times they had appeared, each and every time was it's own, magical experience.

" Hi guys," greeted Leah.

The twin genies lowered themselves down to now glitter covered carpet flooring of Leah's bedroom.

" How have you been Leah?" Asked Shine, " Girls at school not being too rude I hope?"

Leah shook her head, " Nope. Things have actually been improving."

" That's great to hear, Leah!"

Shine's eyes widened, " Wait... There's something we needed t-"

" Leah! Dinner's ready!"

Leah ran to her bedroom door, " We'll talk later guys! I gotta go!"


	7. Chapter 7

Hi guys. I'm very sorry updates have been slow for this story.

Don't worry, I'm still working on it, but I'm generally unhappy with how it turned out. I'm so so glad you all enjoy it.

I will be rewriting this on my new account, dusktodawnblade. It's still on Fanfiction. It'll mostly be the same plot, but better written and an overall more solid story. I hope you all enjoy it.

I'll keep you guys posted, and I'll be sure to let you know when the first chapter of the rewrite is up.

Until next time, guys. See ya later.


	8. (PLEASE READ) THE REWRITE IS COMING

Hello everyone. I'm sorry that I stopped working on this fanfic. I was generally unhappy with how it turned out. But don't worry, the rewrite is coming soon. Mark my words and your calendars, the rewrite is coming within the next ten days. Hopefully sooner. I have a lot planned for you guys that I hope you all will enjoy. I want this rewrite to be just as good, if not superior to the original. So please, bare with me. The rewrite is coming very, very soon. I've got some cool concepts for a plot, and it's all coming together nicely. I can't wait for you guys to read it.  
I love all of you guys, and thank you for your continued support.

Dawn


	9. UPDATE: JUNE 11, 2018

I'm so so sorry that updates have been so scarce with this story. Please, please, please give me some time and I promise this thing will be up and running again before you know it. i've just been really busy with other projects, and unfortunately, this one really got the short end of the stick. Thank you so much for the continued support, over 3,000 reads is amazing and I love all of you so so much 3

I'll be back with this story soon.

~ Dawn


	10. THE REWRITE IS FINALLY UP!

After months of waiting, the first chapter of the rewrite is finally complete. The new story is called Shimmer and Shine: Genesis (Redux). It's not a very long chapter, but the plot and tone are both very different, and my writing skills have improved since I first wrote version 1.0 of this fanfic.

There's still a lot more to come, and I hope you all enjoy what I have in store for you all ^-^

~ Dawn


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